It may seem hard to believe, but this performance of Rossini's Petite messe solennelle of 1863, accompanied by two pianos and a harmonium (all period pieces in this recording), is the original version of the work. Rossini orchestrated the mass (which he called "the last sin of his old age") four years later in order, he said, to stop "Mr. Sax and his saxophones" and "Mr. Berlioz with other giants from the modern orchestra" from stepping in. The Dutch vocal quintet Quink added three additional singers for this disc, and the ...
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It may seem hard to believe, but this performance of Rossini's Petite messe solennelle of 1863, accompanied by two pianos and a harmonium (all period pieces in this recording), is the original version of the work. Rossini orchestrated the mass (which he called "the last sin of his old age") four years later in order, he said, to stop "Mr. Sax and his saxophones" and "Mr. Berlioz with other giants from the modern orchestra" from stepping in. The Dutch vocal quintet Quink added three additional singers for this disc, and the total of eight choristers also accords with Rossini's specifications. The only change is that members of the octet take the solos; Rossini envisioned 12 singers in all -- one for each Apostle. (The premiere apparently also featured some of the last generation of castrati.) Hearing the work this way is a revelation. The mass draws effectively on Rossini's operatic language, with marvelous direct touches such as the repetition of the word "Credo" (I believe) during some of the wordier...
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